Handweights have been accepted exercise equipment for centuries. Recent research has given more explicit documentation for the multiple benefits of exercise that makes use of handweights.
A major advance in the understanding of handweight exercise and in the prescription thereof came concurrently with the invention of the strapped handweight (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,351,526 and 4,627,618). This technique and hardware enhanced the benefits that could be derived from handweight exercise. Specifically, this invention implemented forms of activity which utilized large percentages of skeletal muscle simultaneously. A more complete discussion of these factors is presented in three books: Heavyhands: the Ultimate Exercise; Heavyhands Walking; and the Heavyhands Walking Book!, by Leonard Schwartz, M.D., published in 1982, 1987 and 1989, respectively.
Users of conventional handweights have all suffered certain disadvantages during their use. (1) The unstrapped versions (see above) require the host to grip the weight with excessive force with consequent discomfort, early fatigue, and often undue elevations of the arterial blood pressure. (2) The extension outward of the weighted ends from the shaft of the weight may make for excessive discomfort and even precipitate injuries of muscles and joints of the upper extremities. In addition, the lateral extensions of handweights may function as dangerous projectiles that endanger the host during highly vigorous movements.
It is clear that a handweight constructed in the configuration of a glove or sleeve would negate these objections by virtually eliminating the need for gripping and by eliminating lateral extensions of the weight which are biomechanical disadvantages to the user and which may reduce the overall safety of such exercise.
Handweighted gloves have been tried before. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,247,097 of Dr. Leonard Schwartz. Prior inventions suffer either from severe limitation in the amount of weight that can be included in the weight itself, or from the inherent structure of the weight which results in unfortunate movements within the glove itself during exercise. Most current weighted glove inventions suffer both these disadvantages.
The present invention corrects these problems by increasing the weight (resistance) that can be placed within a glovelike embodiment that is inherently stable during use and virtually negates the likelihood of trauma. Thus, this invention creates a handweight with the greatest potential for freedom of movement by combining maximal resistance (weight) with the greatest possible range of motion while eliminating user concern over trauma. Stated otherwise, the ultimate effect of this invention is to maximize the energy cost of exercise per pound of handweight with the least amount of discomfort.
Finally, the present embodiment makes for more effective and comfortable exercise by promoting the feeling in the user that the weight is an extension of the hand itself, rather than a heavy foreign body. This quality is inherent in the design, which in turn is contingent upon the novel construction of both the internal and surface aspects of the sleeve itself.